March 25, 2022 – San Diego County Water Authority Finance Director Lisa Marie Harris has been named CFO of the Year in the Public Sector category by The San Diego Business Journal.
Chula Vista, Calif. – On March 23, 2022, Sweetwater Authority (Authority) received a refund check of $211,954 from the Association of California Water Agencies-Joint Powers Insurance Authority (JPIA).
“The Governing Board is so proud of staff for their hard work and commitment to safety. We appreciate their efforts and the positive impacts that these sorts of refunds have on our budget,” said Chair Alejandra Sotelo-Solis.
March 25, 2022 – Businessman and civic leader Mel Katz is the new vice chair of the San Diego County Water Authority Board, filling a vacancy created when Mona Rios stepped down from the post. The Board of Directors voted unanimously on Thursday to install Katz to fill the rest of Rios’ term, which ends in September.
March 24, 2022 – After helping secure nearly $25 million to cover past-due water bills in 2021, the San Diego County Water Authority and its member agencies are seeking additional state money to help residents financially impacted by the pandemic.
Pure Water Oceanside is the first operating advanced water purification facility in San Diego County, providing a new local supply. The facility was officially dedicated with a celebration Tuesday in Oceanside. Elected officials and water leaders throughout Southern California commemorated the milestone which coincided with World Water Day.
Pure Water Oceanside purifies recycled water to create a new local source of high-quality drinking water that is clean, safe, drought-proof and environmentally sound.
“On this World Water Day, we celebrate the City of Oceanside’s contribution to managing our invaluable water resources with the opening of Pure Water Oceanside,” said Cari Dale, City of Oceanside water utilities director. “Today we made history by moving one step closer to achieving the goal of greater water independence for not only our city, residents and businesses, but also the region as a whole.”
The $70 million project uses advanced technology, including ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis and advanced oxidation to provide 3 million gallons per day or more than 20% of the City of Oceanside’s drinking water supply. The source of the recycled water to create the purified water is from the city’s own San Luis Rey Water Reclamation Facility.
The City of Oceanside dedicated Pure Water Oceanside today on #WorldWaterDay💧The facility purifies recycled water to provide more than 20% of Oceanside’s drinking water supply. San Diego County Water Authority GM Sandra Kerl: “To see this project come to fruition is monumental.” pic.twitter.com/Flcaakzapx
— Ed Joyce (@EdJoyce) March 22, 2022
“Pure Water Oceanside exemplifies our commitment to innovative projects that improve the lives of the citizens who call our great city home,” said City of Oceanside Mayor Esther Sanchez. “Not only will the project safeguard against ongoing drought concerns, but it will also improve the quality and quantity of our local aquifer and reduce our reliance on imported water, ensuring clean and reliable water is available for future generations.”
The $70 million project uses advanced technology, including ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis and advanced oxidation to provide 3 million gallons per day or more than 20% of the City of Oceanside’s drinking water supply. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
Pure Water Oceanside addresses a variety of challenges faced by the city. Before the project went online, Oceanside imported most of its water from the Sacramento Bay Delta and the Colorado River, hundreds of miles away. This imported water is subject to rising costs out of the city’s control, requires an enormous amount of energy to transport and is vulnerable to natural disasters and earthquakes. Pure Water Oceanside addresses these challenges by diversifying the city’s water supply and reducing its reliance on imported water.
The launching of Pure Water Oceanside coincides with a larger movement for the region as a whole to create sustainable water supplies in San Diego County. In addition to Pure Water Oceanside, two other water reuse projects are planned for the region: the East County Advanced Water Purification Program and Pure Water San Diego.
(Editor’s note: The City of Oceanside, City of San Diego, Padre Dam Municipal Water District, and the Helix Water District are four of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)
March 18, 2022 – “Today’s announcement about reduced allocations from the State Water Project brings into focus the increasing challenges created by the megadrought. This is an emergency felt throughout the state and we strongly support continued conservation.
“Reduced water deliveries from the State Water Project highlight how the San Diego region’s conservation ethic combined with investments in drought-resilient supplies are paying off. The region uses very little water from the Bay-Delta, and even with reduced allocations, the Water Authority has reliable water supplies for 2022 and beyond.
“During this extended drought, we urge residents and businesses to use water wisely by limiting showers to five minutes, fixing indoor and outdoor water leaks, and ensuring irrigation systems are working efficiently. We must continue to care for our most precious natural resource to sustain our economy and quality of life – not just for today but for our future.”
— Sandra L. Kerl, General Manager, San Diego County Water Authority
As the worst drought in 1,200 years grips the West, the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant is protecting the San Diego region with 50 million gallons a day of drought-proof water.
Completed in 2015, the plant was built before the period of increasing inflation that’s driving up prices for water infrastructure projects that are just starting. That means the desal plant is safeguarding the region’s economy and quality of life today at a lower cost than it would be to build now.
In fact, water from the plant costs average homeowners about $5 more a month – about the cost of a latte. The San Diego County Water Authority buys water produced at the plant from Poseidon Water under a contract that protects ratepayers. Because the plant was developed as a public-private partnership, key risks associated with the construction and operation of the plant were shifted to Poseidon. Accordingly, water is paid for as it is produced and prices adjust predictably based on contractually specified indices. Ratepayers do face less predictable cost impacts from rising energy prices, but that is no different from any other new publicly owned water supply project.
“The Carlsbad plant is an important regional asset and its value is highlighted by the ongoing megadrought,” said Jeremy Crutchfield, a water resources manager for the Water Authority. “The cost of water is higher than conventional sources, but so is the reliability – and that’s never looked more important than it does today.”
On the environmental front, Poseidon is committed to keeping the Carlsbad plant carbon-neutral through state-of-the-art energy recovery devices, mitigation projects and securing carbon credits. In addition, upgrades to the plant’s intake and discharge systems will be completed by the end of 2023, in compliance with a 2019 permit.
Three new fish-friendly seawater intake pumps, recently commissioned at the Carlsbad Desalination Plant, are among the most environmentally advanced intake pumps in the world. The pumps are part of a broader effort to ensure the long-term health of the marine environment near the Plant, which sits on the shores of Agua Hedionda Lagoon. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
Another positive: There’s no signs of plant impacts to the coastal waters, which are protected by some of the world’s most aggressive standards through the California Coastal Act and the California Ocean Plan. While the facility was cited by regulators in 2019, importantly, no enforcement action was taken as regulators recognized the problems were with formulas in the permit and not the actual plant discharges.
At the start of operations, project managers also navigated a series of ramp-up challenges common with any large industrial facility. Since then, Poseidon has made capital improvements to its pretreatment system and invested in advanced monitoring and control technologies at company expense.
The Carlsbad Desalination Plant uses reverse osmosis to produce approximately 10% of the region’s water supply; it is a core supply regardless of weather conditions, and it is blended with water from other sources for regional distribution. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
In 2021, the plant produced more than 51,000 acre-feet of water and the volumes are projected to be at least 50,000 acre-feet in 2022 as well. That’s enough water to meet more than 10% of regional demand – which is met through a diversified portfolio of conserved water, groundwater, recycled water and other sources.
“Desalination remains a valuable tool for our community when it comes to ensuring safe and reliable water supplies no matter the weather,” Crutchfield said. “It has shown its value by generating nearly 90 billion gallons over the past six years, and I’m confident it will continue to do so in the years ahead.”
Chula Vista, Calif. – At its meeting on March 9, the Governing Board (Board) of the South Bay Irrigation District (SBID) adopted the Final Redistricting Plan, which sets Board Member Division boundaries to ensure divisions equally reflect voter population. Prior to adoption of the plan, public participation was invited at two public hearings.
The processing of redistricting is required by law for public agencies, and occurs every ten years in conjunction with the release of new census data. Based on data from the 2020 census, there were no significant changes to population numbers within the SBID Divisions. Therefore, the approved division boundaries remain the same.
Vista, Calif. – Vista Irrigation District board of directors will hold a public hearing on March 16, 2022 at 9:00 AM to discuss proposed adjustments to division boundaries as part of the decennial redistricting process.
Every ten years, agencies with by-district election systems, such as Vista Irrigation District (District), must use new federal census data to review and, if needed, redraw electoral division boundaries to reflect how local populations have changed. This process, called redistricting, ensures all electoral divisions comply with both the California and federal Voting Rights Acts. The District must reestablish electoral divisional boundaries, creating divisions that are balanced in population and in accordance with local, state, and federal laws that govern the redistricting process. Redistricting does not change the District’s service area boundaries.
Community members are invited to attend the March 16, 2022 public hearing to provide input on the proposed boundary division map. The redistricting process is required to be completed by April 17, 2022.
Tens of millions of gallons of water will soon be flowing again through a major pipeline in North San Diego County following successful repairs on a distressed section of Pipeline 4 near Bonsall.
San Diego County Water Authority staff detected potential pipeline weaknesses just north of West Lilac Road in late January using real-time acoustic fiber-optic monitoring. This technology locates distressed sections of pipelines even while they are in use as part of the agency’s high-tech asset management program.
The repair is part of the Water Authority’s proactive approach and long-term commitment to maintaining regional water supply. Strategic investments in money-saving management tools and training paid off when staff spotted a potential problem that could have led to an unplanned shutdown of a 7.5-foot diameter water pipeline.
The pipeline was shut down March 1 so repairs could begin. While Pipeline 4 was out of service, five North County water agencies that rely on it continued water deliveries by other means to homes and businesses.
Work underway on major Pipeline 4 repair project in north San Diego County that maintains water supply reliability and affordability. Thanks to five San Diego County Water Authority member agencies, water deliveries will continue during work. https://t.co/iMvnJ2FeJl #cawater pic.twitter.com/DNPVHCeyfO
— San Diego County Water Authority (@sdcwa) March 4, 2022
Even during the shutdown, the Water Authority’s resilient system can deliver treated water to member agency connections from multiple sources, including the Carlsbad Desalination Plant.
The Water Authority uses the most current technologies for monitoring large-diameter pipelines, including electromagnetic scanning, which detects and locates damaged areas within pipeline walls, and real-time acoustic fiber-optic monitoring, which can detect and locate distress on pipelines while they are in service.
The Water Authority operates and maintains a water delivery system capable of delivering more than 900 million gallons of water per day through 310 miles of large-diameter pipeline, 1,600 aqueduct-related structures, and approximately 100 metering/flow control facilities. It also includes a state-of-the-art water treatment plant, hydroelectric facilities, pump stations, flow regulatory structures, and reservoirs that store water for emergencies and dry years.
As assets age, the Water Authority proactively replaces and repairs them to minimize impacts to member agencies and the public. Investments in the latest inspection technologies, including electromagnetic scanning, robotic inspections and 3D tunnel inspections help the Water Authority’s asset management team detect defects in pipelines and related facilities. By identifying corrosion or other types of deficiencies early, potential problems are corrected so they don’t become large and more costly issues.
“This repair highlights the value of strategic investments in money-saving asset management tools and training,” said Martin Coghill, a senior manager for operations and maintenance at the Water Authority. “By proactively identifying this problem spot, we prevented what could have been a major unplanned shutdown.”
Sweetwater Authority Logo 2019